A Dayton man sentenced to seven years in prison for drugging and raping a University of Dayton student now faces more time behind bars.
The Second District Court of Appeals today reversed the sentence for 32-year-old Joseph D. Fricke, Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. announced. Fricke was convicted in March 2014 of rape of a substantially impaired victim, possession of criminal tools and contaminating a substance for human consumption. According to prosecutors, Fricke and a 19-year-old UD student were having drinks at a Brown Street bar in 2011 when he put Lorazepam in her drink. At sentencing, Common Pleas Judge Timothy O'Connell merged all counts and sentenced Fricke to only seven years in prison.
Heck’s office appealed the merger, which was affirmed. However, an Ohio Supreme Court ruling in State v. Ruff in August 2015 had a direct impact on Fricke’s case, so Heck’s office asked the Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision, which it reversed.
The Court of Appeals now says the rape and contamination are separate and distinct offences and should be sentenced individually. The case was remanded back to O’Connell for resentencing.
Heck said he will ask O’Connell to sentence Fricke to the maximum, consecutive sentence. “The actions of this defendant were calculated and ruthless and he should be removed from society for as long as possible.”
Fricke also was labeled a Tier III sexual offender, which requires him to register his address every 90 days with his local sheriff’s office for the rest of his life, once he is released.
He remains incarcerated at the Noble Correctional Institution in Caldwell, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction website.
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